Lesson 50: Braided Braids

This is a simple technique that gives a complicated look.  Belle wanted an Easter egg, so I started with a zigzag sort of shape, though the finished style looks very little like an Easter egg.  To start, comb out a triangular section at the forehead and braid it out as far as you can.  Add a clear elastic.  Repeat with triangle sections at the side of the head.  Put everything into a ponytail.  Divide the tail into three sections, making sure there is a braid in each.  Braid the tail.  You will need to adjust the small braids with each turn to be sure they are visible.  Add a hairband at the end.  Remove the elastics if they are visible.

Lesson 49: Barbie Bangs

(Belle doesn't want me to take her video to french braid with wet hair, so I will post other stuff until she changes her mind.)

When you buy a new Barbie doll, often the hair is done something like this in the front.  I use Barbie bangs for the beginning step to several other styles, but it looks fine just how it is if you only want to leave the rest of the hair as is.

To begin, make a side part on the top of the head.  Then part the hair across the top from ear to ear.

Pull the remaining hair back and secure it temporarily into a twist or bun, whatever will keep the hair out of the way and off the neck.

Brush the front sections of hair smooth flat against the head.  I put it behind the ears, but you could cover the ears if you prefer (and if she/you can stand it on top of the ears).  Bring both sides together at the back of the neck and tie them together with an elastic.  Be careful not to get any of those tiny baby hairs or it will be painful.  It helps to spray the hair above the neck with water to plaster down all the baby hairs before you bring the top sections back.

Let down the rest of the hair and brush it smooth.

Help Joy, Hope, and Everything in Between

I followed this link today from Beads, Braids, and Beyond and love the idea of sending hairdodads to little girls in Ethiopia!
Click this link to find out more.
If you don't want to spend extra on postage, consider donating to a local shelter house.

Lesson 48: Easter Up-do

(When the timing is right, I'll post some more about french braiding...)

Here is the "do" Belle wore for Easter.  This is my absolute favorite style on her!  She looked like a princess.

I put in some rag curls the night before to get the curls at the end, but a curling iron would be fine.  I didn't have time to take step by step pictures, but I got several angles when it was done.

Part the hair on the side in front.  French braid the front sections to the top of the head, then quit adding hair in.  Braid them down to the ends and put in a clear elastic.  Put the remaining hair in a pony tail, high up and just an inch or two away from the end of the french braids.  For short hair, do an upside down topsy tail to make "cascading curls."  Since Belle's hair is too heavy for that,  I braided the tail of the pony very loosely, folded it in half upwards and added another hairband around the first so the curly tail ends stuck up.  The braid from the front I let hang down a bit beneath the pony and wrap around to the other side.  I crossed them together at the top and clipped them together with a mini clip and stuck in a bobby pin to keep them from falling down.  I hid the clip by looping a curl around and making a circle.  I held the circle in place with a flower bobby pin.  These gorgeous flower accents are easy to make: just clip a fake flower up to the little green nub, put a dab of hot glue on the top of a bobby pin, and stick the flower on.  The big yellow flower I actually just left the stem on and stuck it through one of the elastics.  Stick the flowers in a random.  

Lesson 47: Easter Resurrection Style

I wanted to do some sort of style for Easter that wasn't all about the commercial side of the holiday, so I came up with this style.  It's symbolic of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Three topsy tail twists represented the "going down" or death for three days, and then the last one has the "rising up again" and a spray of hair going out like rays of light.

To begin, put in a front half pony and turn it inside out with a pull-through (topsy tail).

Repeat with another section midway to the bottom, adding the first tail into it.

Repeat again with all the remaining hair.

Braid the tail.

Turn tail back and pass it up through the same hole behind the pull-through.  Add another hairband at the bottom of the pull-through to keep the braid loop secure.  Remove the hairband from the tail end of the braid.

Spray the tail ends with water to make them heavy and curve downward instead of sticking straight up.  They will dry in this shape.  You can add a bow or flower if you like.  Happy Easter!

Lesson 46: Earth Day Knotted Tree

I'll get back to my french braiding lessons again soon, but I want to add in something for Earth Day and Easter beforehand.

To make this tree, you first need to know how to tie a knot.  It's not complicated--just a simple knot.  Start with a small section of hair and twist it up.

Now make a loop and pull the end through the middle.

Pull it tight.

To make it stay in, put in a tiny (preferably clear) elastic at the bottom of the knot, and scoot it up to hide under the knot.

For the tree, I made a side part on top.  I put in three knots on one side of the part and two knots on the other side.  Try to make the spacing sort of random.  Next bring the tails from all the knots together and put in a clear band.  This forms the trunk of the tree.

Lesson 45: French Braid (Part B: Dry Hair Pigtails)

French braiding dry hair is easier than wet hair because it is easier to divide the sections of hair for adding in.  Also the hair is more cooperative because it doesn't make so many bumps and ridges.  Wet hair wants to stay the way it is combed, but when you are adding hair to the braid you are changing the direction the hair lays, so wet hair is more troublesome.  Making a single french braid down the middle of the head is slightly more difficult, in my opinion, than two french braid pigtails.  The sections you have to gather in are longer and may be harder to keep in your hand while you are learning the fingering.  Pigtails are twice as much work, though, since you have to do two.  I'll teach both; you choose.

For pigtails, start by parting the hair down the middle.  Secure one side temporarily to keep it out of the way.  Gather a section of hair from the top and split it into three pieces.  Start with a side-over-middle cross, but it is easier later on if you start with the side that is closer to the part. Add some hair in with each crossover.  Use your fingers or a comb to gather a rectangular section of hair.  Continue until there is no more hair to add in, then finish with a regular braid.

Fingering is the trickiest part to learn, and also the trickiest part to teach.  It is not an exact science, and each pass may be different than the last.  Do whatever you need to to keep the hair from falling out of your hands.  You will need to keep each section separated, sometimes all in one hand.  When crossing over, you may hold the piece going over the top between your pointer and thumb and reach under with your middle finger to grab the middle section to be crossed over.

Watch carefully that you do not cross the same side twice (R L R R).  This is a common mistake for beginners.  Keep your pattern alternating (R L R L).  If you make a mistake, it will not look as neat as it should.  If you have to go backwards to fix it, you risk dropping everything and having to start over completely.  Depending on your time, patience, and skill, it may be better just to let the mistake stay in.

All that said, here is a video.  

Click here for the first french braiding lesson: Part A: Concept.